


I Can't Let Go of You

by fandomshere_fandomsthere



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Moving On, Past Relationship(s), Recovery, little Tythan moments will split up the suffering because I love them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-15 07:31:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10552476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomshere_fandomsthere/pseuds/fandomshere_fandomsthere
Summary: Moving on is one of the hardest things to do.(Sequel to Everything)DISCONTINUED





	1. Prologue: Old Memories

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is a sequel to my most recent Septiplier fic called "Everything"! If you haven't read that, you definitely should before you read this. Major spoilers for "Everything" are below!  
> But if you HAVE read it...*rubs hands together* Here we fuckin go you guys

            Jack sealed the cardboard box with packing tape. The sound of a Sharpie scraping against cardboard filled the room as he labeled it “another fucking box of clothes”. Moving was irritating, but packing was by far the worst part. Every time he moved, Jack was surprised by the amount of shit he had to stuff in boxes or bins or various other containers. This would (hopefully) be the last time he’d be moving in a long while. After all, he’d be moving in with Signe, his wife. _His wife._ The fact that he could call her that now made his stomach clench in the best way possible. Most of his time was spent at their house already, but in a few days’ time, they’d be living together for real. Forever.

            A small crash followed by a shout of “fuck!” from across the hall told Jack his roommate was having trouble with something. He poked his head into the other room and burst into laughter at the sight of Mark sprawled on the floor underneath a pile of clothes and what looked like the clothing rod from his closet.

            “Fuck off and help me, will you?” Mark said. He started to sit up.

            “What are you even doin’?” Jack asked, sitting next to Mark on the floor.

            “Well," Mark began as he kicked the clothing rod and a few shirts off of himself, “since you’re moving out and kind of cleaning in the process, I thought I’d get some cleaning done too.”

            Jack looked around Mark’s messy room with raised eyebrows but chose not to comment. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone clean their room by tearing their closet apart and burying themselves in clothes.” He laughed when the shirt that Mark had thrown at him covered his face.

            “I’m just going through stuff to see what I don’t wear anymore and giving that to Goodwill or some shit,” Mark explained.

            “I can help you with that,” Jack said. He took the shirt off his head and threw it back at Mark, who let it bounce off the side of his head and hang on his shoulder.

            “Thanks,” Mark said. “Can you grab a laundry basket or something?”

            “Sure.”

            Jack got a laundry basket from the closet in their bathroom, and the two of them spent the next forty-five minutes sorting through clothes. Things that Mark was donating went in the basket, and things he was going to keep went in a pile on the floor. The clothing rod was propped up against the wall to be dealt with later. When Mark pulled his gray dress pants out of one of his dresser drawers, he stared at them for a long moment. After a minute of silence, he chucked them in the laundry basket. His gray vest and red tie soon followed. Jack looked up from the jeans he was folding.

            “You’re givin’ that away?” he asked.

            “It doesn’t really fit anymore,” Mark mumbled as he rummaged in the drawer. “Besides, I dyed my hair back to normal, so the tie doesn’t match.” Jack hummed to show he’d heard and looked back down.

            “I think that should be enough,” Mark said. His words were accompanied by the snap of the drawer closing. The laundry basket was full. “I’ll go drop this stuff off.”

            “You know where you’re going?” Jack asked.

            Mark grinned and picked up the basket. “Google Maps is a blessing. See you in a bit. Don’t eat all the leftover pizza. I want some for dinner.”

            “You can’t control me!” Jack called after Mark as he left. Mark laughed, and then he was out the door.

            Jack chuckled to himself and looked at the mess the two of them had made. There were clothes everywhere, the closet had been left open, the rod was still against the wall, and the open drawers of the dresser had things hanging out of them. On top of that, there were papers scattered all over Mark’s desk. Jack decided to be productive while Mark was gone. He got the clothing rod back in place, hung up and folded clothes that had been strewn across the room, stacked the papers that looked like they could hold some importance on Mark’s desk, and threw out the junk mail.

            The corner of an envelope was sticking out of the desk’s top drawer. Jack opened it and sighed when he found even more junk mail packed tightly in. It was hard to even open the drawer. He pulled the trash can closer to the desk and took a seat in Mark’s chair, tossing out letters asking Mark to get a credit card, local business advertisements, magazine subscription trials, and coupons that had expired months ago. A few candy wrappers were mixed in with the mail as well. By the time Jack was done, all that remained was a notebook that had been at the bottom of the drawer. He closed it to check the next one, but stopped when he heard a clunking noise.

            The drawer squeaked as it was opened again, with less force than it had been closed. Jack peered inside and saw a small black box. It had to have been there a long time; there was a layer of dust on it. Jack reached into the very back of the drawer and closed his fingers around the box, brushing the dust off on his jeans. It was soft, like it was covered in some sort of fabric. Upon closer inspection, Jack saw that it was hinged on one side. It was almost like…

            _Why would he have a ring?_ Jack thought. Now he was curious. Despite that it was most likely an invasion of Mark’s privacy, he opened the box.

            Inside, nestled snugly in rich green velvet, was one of the most beautiful rings Jack had ever seen. It was a silver band braided to look like a Celtic knot—the love knot, if he was remembering Granny’s lessons of the meaning behind the knots correctly. A diamond sat in between two sapphires. Sapphires that were the color of Jack’s eyes. He was gripped by the desire to try it on. It was such a beautiful ring.

            Jack swallowed. His hands were suddenly shaking. Why was he so nervous? It must have had something to do with the fact that he was snooping through Mark’s things. He gingerly plucked the ring from its velvet nest. It was a little heavier than he was expecting, and it was too small for it to be Mark’s. With slightly trembling hands, Jack slipped the band on his right ring finger. It fit perfectly. The ring box in his other hand fell to the floor.

            Jack snatched the notebook from the drawer. He frantically flipped the pages, past random doodles and notes and shorthand that he didn’t understand. A wall of text assaulted Jack’s eyes a few pages after a doodle of a box with a face that Mark had named Tim. The entire page was crossed out. The next was the same. Four more pages of solid text followed, with some parts highlighted, circled, and marked with stars. Most of it had been crossed out with many a pen stroke. Little notes written in Mark’s shorthand filled the margins. A message made up of the marked pieces was on the next page. It still had some parts crossed out. The only other mark on the page was a tiny heart next to the message.

_~~Jack~~ ~~Sean~~ ~~I never call him Sean that’s weird~~ Jack. I love you. More than anything or anyone in the world. I’m so glad that we’re a couple of nerds who decided to go to the same gym in Pokémon Go. ~~even if you were being an asshole with those FUCKING magikarps~~  Who knows if we would have met otherwise? For the past two years, you’ve made me the happiest man alive. I never want to leave you. I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?_

            Dust flew up from the notebook’s pages as Jack slammed it shut and shoved it back in the drawer. The ring—the _engagement_ ring, the ring _Mark_ was going to give him—felt cold and heavy on his right hand. Jack looked down at his shaking hands, but they were more than just his hands. They were two different realities. One where he married Signe—the reality he was in right now, the reality where he broke Mark’s heart—and one where he never fell out of love with Mark and married him.

            Jack’s heart raced and his head reeled. So many things about the night of their breakup made so much sense, _too_ much sense now: the romantic evening, Mark seeming nervous, Mark constantly touching and patting his pocket like he was checking to see if there was something there—God, it was too much, it was _too much._ Jack knew he’d hurt Mark, but he hadn’t ever considered _this._ This must have crushed him. Jack had dumped him not only before he could propose, but _the night that he had planned to propose._

            Jack yanked off the ring and resisted the urge to throw it across the room. Instead, he put it on the desk while he looked for the box. The diamond and sapphires glittered weakly in the sunlight filtering through the blinds.

            “I never saw this,” Jack muttered to himself. He put the ring back in the box and closed the lid. “I had no idea what he was planning. I didn’t know.” He tucked the ring back into its former spot. Without a second glance, he left Mark’s room and closed the door. The ring sat quietly in its velvet, forgotten.

            The same could not be said for Jack’s guilt.


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing either Tyler or Ethan and posting it anywhere. I hope I captured them well. I watched all of Mark's Undertale livestreams as well as most of their challenge videos to get a better understanding of Tyler :) Enjoy!

            Cincinnati had barely changed in the years he’d been gone. It was comforting. The sunshine wasn’t quite as bright and as harsh as it was in Los Angeles. It was colder too—it was barely noticeable in late summer though. Tourists weren’t crawling all over the city and its surrounding areas. People seemed to be in less of a rush; California had an effect on people that made them feel like they were wasting time unless they were doing something else. No one really knew what that something else was—they only knew that it wasn’t whatever they were currently doing. While Cincinnati still had the hustle and bustle that all urban areas did, it felt peaceful.

            Mark parked his car on the street outside of his favorite coffee shop. Starbucks was great and all, but only his hometown had The Grind, a coffee shop that had the best caramel mochas known to man. Its cinnamon croissants were always warm, buttery, and flaky. The jingle bells on the door tinkled, and the smell of freshly ground coffee hit Mark as if he’d walked into a wall. He breathed in deeply through his nose, a smile on his face. That smell had greeted him all throughout his teenage years and into his adult ones as well. There was nothing else like it. This was it. He was home.

            One order later, Mark was sitting at a table in the corner, near the window of the shop. The rickety wooden chair creaked underneath his weight. Butter from the croissant got on his fingers and stained the screen of his phone as he dialed Tyler’s number.

            “Hey,” Tyler said after two rings.

            “Hey,” Mark echoed around the croissant in his mouth. “Where do you live again?”

            Tyler sighed. “I’ve told you ten times.”

            “It’s only been nine!” Mark said defensively.

            “Are you at The Grind?”

            “Yep.”

            “Well, this should be easy for you then. We’re a block down from there.”

            “I’m going to get fat from croissants,” Mark groaned. Tyler laughed. “I’ll be over soon. Is there a parking garage nearby?”

            “Parking lot actually. Right next to the building,” Tyler said. “See you soon.” He hung up with a click. Mark finished his croissant, wiped his buttery fingers on his jeans, took the last sip of his mocha, and got in his car. He found the apartment building with minor difficulties and took the elevator to the third floor, looking for Tyler and Ethan’s apartment. He found it—apartment 113—and knocked.

            After a moment, the door was opened, and Mark froze. For a split second, he’d thought that Jack was the one standing in front of him. He blinked a few times to be sure he was mistaken. The person standing in front of him didn’t actually look that similar to his ex, now that Mark was paying attention. He was around the same height with a slim build, but the dyed portion of his hair was blue rather than green. On top of that, he wasn’t as pale as Jack and looked younger than him. Maybe it had something to do with the acne and lack of facial hair.

            “Uh…can I help you?” the man at the door asked. His blue-green eyes were flitting up and down Mark’s form nervously.

            Mark blushed at the realization that he’d been standing there, staring, for at least a minute. “Oh! Uh, sorry. I’m, uh, I’m Mark.” He held out his hand.

            “Oh, hey! Yeah, come on in. I’m Ethan.” He shook Mark’s hand with a smile. Mark smiled back, and they went inside.

            “Tyler! Hey Tyler! Mark’s here!” Ethan shouted. Mark stood awkwardly next to the couch, his hands in his back pockets. Tyler came into the room with a smile on his face.

            “Hey!” he greeted warmly. He approached Mark with open arms and wrapped him in a crushing embrace.

            “Oh Jesus,” Mark choked. “Have you gotten even more ripped since the last time I saw you?”

            “You’re just weak.” Mark could hear the smirk in his friend’s voice. God, he’d missed him.

            “Good to see you too,” Mark laughed. Tyler let go of him and ruffled his hair. Mark glared at him but didn’t bother to fix it. It was always out of control anyway.

            “So you guys have met,” Tyler said, “but I’ll introduce you anyway. Ethan, this is my friend Mark. Mark, this is Ethan, my boyfriend.”

            “Well how do you do?” Ethan said in a goofy, nasally voice as he shook Mark’s hand vigorously.

            “Great!” Mark replied with a grin. “It’s so nice to be meeting you for the very first time because I’ve never seen you before in my life and never met you either and definitely didn’t already introduce myself like five minutes ago!” Ethan laughed.

            “Alright dude, where’s your shit?” he said.

            “Down in my car,” Mark replied. “It’s not too much.”

            “Mark and I can get it,” Tyler said. He ruffled Ethan’s hair as he walked past, and he and Mark got into the elevator and headed down.

            “How long have you guys been dating?” Mark asked when they were in the parking lot.

            “A few months,” Tyler replied with a small smile. He started grabbing boxes out of the back of Mark’s car.

            “Congrats,” Mark said.

            “Thanks. Jesus, how many times did you go to McDonalds on the way up here?” Tyler commented on the small pile of paper fast food bags on the floor of the car.

            “It’s a long drive okay! I didn’t want to be on the road for forever so instead of going to restaurants or a lot of rest stops or places like that I just went through drive-throughs. McDonalds is _everywhere._ Everywhere I tell ya!”

            Tyler laughed and emerged from the car with three boxes stacked on top of one another in his arms. “You weren’t kidding when you said you didn’t have much.”

            “Yeah,” Mark said. “Mostly just clothes and books.” He’d thrown out a lot of things. He didn’t want to be too weighed down on the road. Besides that, too many things reminded him of Jack. Mark dragged his suitcase full of clothes out, along with one more box.

            “I can take that,” Tyler offered.

            “Oh, look at you.” Mark closed the door with his hip. “I’m Tyler! I can lift all the boxes! I’m the strongest man in Cincinnati!”

            Tyler laughed, and they headed back up to the apartment. Mark continued his “I’m Tyler” antics the whole way up, causing the other man to laugh harder and harder until he was almost doubled over. He struggled to open the door until it swung inward and banged into the wall, causing Ethan to jump and trip over the coffee table on his way to the couch.

            “I’m Tyler!” Mark said, drawing out the first word. “I have an inflation fetish!”

            “Dude!” Tyler laughed.

            “Wait, what?” Ethan said in bewilderment. “You have a what?”

            “That’s not true! Don’t believe him!” Tyler put the boxes on the floor.

            “I’m Tyler! I got no legs!”

            “These aren’t even true anymore Mark!”

            “I’m Tyler!” Ethan chimed in. “I once fisted an entire family of goats!”

            “I’m Tyler! I huff glue!”

            “I’m Tyler! I have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis!”

            The three of them burst out laughing. Mark doubled over with laughter, Ethan was on the floor, and Tyler ended up on the couch. Mark’s stomach and cheeks ached. He didn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much or smiled this genuinely. It was liberating. For the first time in years, thoughts of Jack weren’t looming over him like a dark cloud. Maybe he’d be able to truly start over here. He could build a new life with his friends—both old and new.

            “I—” Ethan gasped, “I-I’m Ty—” He cut himself off with a fit of giggles.

            “Okay, I’m done, we’re done, it’s done,” Mark said after taking a deep breath. “If I—I I laugh much more I’m going to explode.”

            “Me too,” Ethan agreed. He flopped on the couch and rested his head in Tyler’s lap. Tyler’s fingers carded through his blue hair seemingly by instinct. “Your room is the one next to the bathroom, by the way.”

            “Thanks,” Mark said. He set down the short hallway to find his room. The wheels of his suitcase squeaked as they rolled across the wooden floor. The door of his room was slightly ajar. He nudged it open with his foot and stepped inside. It was a little bigger than his office-turned-bedroom back in LA. There was a large window overlooking the city and a desk. It was well lit, and the pleasant soft yellow paint on the walls made the room feel bigger than it really was. It was perfect.

            Mark heaved his suitcase on the bed before grabbing the rest of his boxes. Part of him wanted to throw himself on the soft white sheets and sleep for a week; the drive over had taken a lot out of him. He could easily shove the suitcase to one side of the bed and ignore the boxes, but he knew he wouldn’t get to them for weeks if he did that. With a sigh, Mark sat on his bed and opened a box.

            An hour later, the suitcase and three boxes were empty, and the fourth was well on its way. Mark’s laptop was on his desk, his books were on a shelf that was mounted to the wall, and his clothes were in the closet and dresser. Two framed pictures of his family were on the nightstand. Mark rummaged through the knickknacks in the fourth box and wondered where he got so much shit and what he was going to do with all of it. His fingers brushed against a small box covered in fabric.

            Everything stopped for a moment. Mark slowly pulled the box out and opened it. The ring was still there. It was always there. Mocking him. Reminding him of everything he’d lost and everything he’d never have. All of the weight that had been lifted earlier that day came crashing back down on his shoulders.

            “Fuck,” Mark whispered. He hunched forward, head in his hands. The ring slipped off of his lap so that he was staring directly at it. Why did this always happen? Every time Mark started to think that he’d begun to move on, that he was getting used to life without Jack, used to the idea of life without him, something happened. Something made the loss hit harder.

            A knock sounded at his door, followed by Tyler’s voice. “Do you want to get pizza for dinner?”

            “Sure,” came Mark’s hoarse reply.

            “Hey, you okay?”

            “I’m fine.”

            “I’m coming in.”

            Mark lifted his head as Tyler came in the room. The other man looked at the ring, then looked back at Mark.

            “Why do you still have that?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “You need to get rid of it. It’s not doing you any good.”

            Mark sighed and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. “I know. I just don’t…I can’t get rid of it. I don’t even know how I would.”

            Tyler sat next to him. “Sell it to a jewelry store or something. It’s never been worn, right?”

            “Right.” Mark laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “But I don’t want to just _sell_ it or give it away. It was for Jack.”

            “Mark.”

            “Couldn’t I just, I don’t know, chuck it into a river while standing on a bridge in the moonlight like they do in the movies?”

            “ _Mark._ Come on.”

            Mark ran a hand down his face. “You’re right…you’re right. I’ll find a used jewelry store or a pawn shop—well, not a pawn shop. It’s too nice for a pawn shop.”

            Tyler patted his knee. “It’ll be okay Mark. It’ll get better. What do I always say?”

            “Smile always,” Mark said quietly.

            “That’s the spirit,” Tyler said. “You have me and Ethan for help here if you need it. Not to mention your family too. You know that, right?”

            “Yeah.” Mark sat up and closed the ring box. Tyler smiled.

            “Good. Now come in the living room so we can figure out what we want for pizza.”

            The two of them stood up. Mark tried to push Jack into the depths of his mind and focus on spending time with Tyler and getting to know Ethan for the rest of the night. He tried not to think about how Jack would have loved the pizza they were eating. He tried not to let Ethan’s bright blue hair remind him of Jack’s eyes. None of it worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the suffering continues.
> 
> By the way!  
> I've been considering doing writing commissions. I don't know how I would get those set up (wtf is PayPal????), but I have a general idea for prices and such. If any of you have any advice or would be interested, hit me up :) You can message me or send me an ask on my Tumblr. My username is maplemarcher!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading <3


	3. Chapter 2: Similarities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this IS an angst fic, it's about Mark recovering too. I didn't want it to be a sequel that was basically the previous story with a few tweaks here and there. I hope y'all like how this is going so far :)

            The next few weeks passed in a blur. It seemed like Mark was always busy; most of his time was spent trying to find a job, but he was also visiting family and old friends, running errands, searching for a place to sell Jack’s ring, and attempting to squeeze relaxation time in there somewhere. While Mark was exhausted, he wasn’t wallowing, and that was good. In fact, Mark didn’t have time to think about Jack at all.

            That would have been true if it wasn’t for Ethan.

            Mark liked Ethan. He was energetic, funny, optimistic, and hard working. There was never a dull moment when he was around. He was almost always smiling, and he made Tyler happy. A small smile always crept onto Mark’s face when he saw them together, one of Tyler’s arms around Ethan and Ethan’s head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Tyler had a habit of covering Ethan’s face in kisses until he was overcome with giggles. Ethan was a good boyfriend and an all-around good person. Mark could have called him a good friend, but he reminded Mark of Jack too much. Maybe it was immature, maybe it was mean, but Mark couldn’t help it.

            Ethan and Jack, personality wise, were very similar. They were both loud and boisterous goofballs with a strong work ethic and a love for pineapple pizza (which Mark still didn’t understand). None of it was Ethan’s fault. Mark knew that. But sometimes Mark couldn’t stand being around him. He’d make a hurried excuse—he was tired, he was busy, he didn’t feel well. Mark felt awful about it, but he pretended not to. Ethan hadn’t said anything, and neither had Tyler, so Mark figured he was alright.

            Eventually, Mark’s busy schedule died down. He found a job, so his frequent filling out of applications, looking through newspapers and websites, and attending interviews ended. He didn’t need to go shopping for things like extra hangers and toothpaste once he’d stocked up. Family visits were still frequent, but he enjoyed those. He’d missed his mother’s cooking and his dogs more than he’d realized. The search was still on for a used jewelry store though.

            “The three of you should come over for dinner soon.” Mark’s mother’s voice crackled through his phone. Mark had her on speaker while he scrolled through the results of his Google search for used jewelry in Cincinnati.

            “That sounds nice,” he said distractedly.

            “Oh, you should come when your brother is in town!”

            Mark pause his search and looked at the phone. “When’s Tom coming?”

            “Some time at the end of the month, I think. I'll have to ask him again.”

            Mark smiled. It would be great to see his brother again. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll tell the guys. I’m sure they’d love to come over.”

            “Tyler knows he’s always welcome,” Mark’s mother said. “Ethan too. He’s such a polite boy.”

            “Yeah,” Mark said.

            “He reminds me a little of Jack,” his mother said. “How’s he doing by the way? Do the two of you still talk?”

            Mark fidgeted. “Not really. I’m sure he’s good though.”

            “That’s alright, dear.” She paused for a moment. “Are you happy?”

            “I am, Mom.”

            “Good. Well, I’ve got to go sweetie. I love you.”

            “Love you too.”

            The phone beeped as she hung up, and Mark sighed. He shook his head to clear it and focused on the task at hand. He’d finally found a store that seemed promising; it was a regular jewelry store, but it took used jewelry that looked new. Jack’s ring fit the qualifications. Mark wrote the name and address down on a sticky note and looked at the clock. The store would be open for several more hours.

 _Might as well get it done now though,_ he thought. He grabbed his keys off his nightstand and the ring from the drawer. He was one trip away from never having to see it again.

            “I’m going out!” Mark called as he left. He didn’t wait to know if either Ethan or Tyler had heard him. He was pulling out of the parking lot a few minutes later. The sticky note with the name and address of the store was on Mark’s dashboard.

            He found the jeweler within twenty minutes. Mark stared at them for a minute, one hand on the steering wheel and the other in his pocket, where his fingers were closed around the velvety box. Was he really ready to let go of it? A small, quiet part of his brain was whispering to him that if he let go of this part of Jack, he’d never have even the smallest chance of making things better with him. Mark felt guilty admitting it to himself, but that same part of himself had always selfishly hoped that Jack and Signe wouldn’t work out. The rational side of him knew that there was no chance of that happening, ring or not—Jack and Signe were in love.

            Mark looked at the building in front of him. It looked almost identical to the store he’d first purchased the ring in. The same polished glass doors shone brightly in the sun. With a huff, he got out of the car and entered the store. The glass cases full of sparkling jewels looked almost exactly the same as the other store’s. He half expected the same associate to approach him as he walked in. Rather than waiting for that to happen, he approached a man behind the counter at the front of the store and explained why he was there.

            “Oh, Amy can help you with that,” the man said. “Amy! This man needs to sell a ring.”

            “Right over here,” a woman’s voice said. Mark turned to see her standing by a table tucked away in the corner.

            He shook her hand before they sat down. “I’m Mark.”

            “Amy. Nice to meet you,” she said with a warm smile. Her big brown eyes were mesmerizing; Mark felt himself being drawn in by her gaze. She sat down, flipping one side of her blonde hair over her shoulder. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow after a moment, and his cheeks warmed slightly.

            “Uh,” he said intelligently. “Ring. Right.” He sat down, took the box out of his pocket, and slid it across the table to Amy. She opened it, and her eyes widened slightly.

            “Wow,” she said in a hushed tone, picking it up and turning it in the sunlight so the gems sparkled brightly. “This is beautiful.”

            Mark couldn’t help the small surge of pride that welled in his chest. “Thanks. I, uh, designed it myself.”

            Amy nodded as she continued to inspect the ring. “What was the occasion?”

            Mark twiddled his thumbs. “Engagement. Didn’t work out.”

            Her eyes flitted up to his for a moment before looking back at the band. “Oh. I’m, uh—I’m sorry.”

            “It’s alright,” Mark said with a shrug. “It’s been a couple years now. I just haven’t known what to do with the ring until now.”

            Amy nodded again and returned the ring to the box. “How much did it cost?”

            They spent the next half an hour talking prices, filling out paperwork, and making other small talk. Actually, the small talk was the thing they spent the most time on. Mark cracked a joke that sounded way funnier in his head than said aloud, and while Amy rolled her eyes, she still gave him a small laugh. Mark’s cheeks felt pleasantly warm the whole time they talked, and he was more fidgety than usual. His leg had been bouncing up and down almost the whole half hour, and he ran his hands through his hair a lot. Amy was nice to talk to. Her dark brown eyes glittered like the gems in the cases that surrounded her. Eventually, their talk came to an end when he’d signed the last piece of paperwork and had been given a check.

            “Thanks for the help,” Mark said.

            “No problem. I hope you don’t change your mind about the ring,” Amy said. “It’ll probably get snatched up in a few days.”

            “Nah,” Mark dismissed, putting his hands in his back pockets. “It was good for me to get rid of it.”

            “Bad breakup?” Amy guessed.

            “You could say that, yeah,” Mark said, shuffling his feet. “I’m pretty much over it now though.”

            “That’s good.” Amy worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment. “And if that’s the case, would you be alright going out for a coffee some time?”

            Mark’s face suddenly burned bright red. “U-uh, sure. Here, why don’t you—” He handed her his phone and shuffled his feet awkwardly while she added herself to his contacts. When she handed his phone back, he saw that she’d put a yellow heart next to her name.

            “I’ll see you some time then?” he said. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

            Amy smiled, and Mark could feel himself melt a little from the warmth radiating from this absolute ray of sunshine. “Yeah. See you.”

            Mark smiled back and offered a nervous little wave before walking out with his hands in his pockets. Had he really just flirted with a pretty girl, had her flirt back, and gotten her number? It was difficult to wrap his head around what had just happened. But when he looked down at his phone, her number was still there. His heart fluttered.

* * *

 

            When Mark got home, Ethan was sitting on the couch and watching an episode of Rick and Morty. He leaned his head over the back of the couch when Mark came in, looking at him upside down.

            “Hey,” he said.

            “Hey,” Mark echoed.

            “Where’d you go?”

            “Jewelry store.”

            “Oh. Nice.”

            Mark nodded as he unlaced his shoes. “So you like Rick and Morty?”

            Ethan grinned. “Yeah, it’s fucking awesome. I love it.” Mark mentally added another thing to the _Ethan and Jack Similarities_ pile. He kicked his shoes off and stood up.

            “Mind if I join you?”

            Surprise flickered across Ethan’s face for a moment. He patted the couch next to him with a small smile, and Mark sat down. They watched the rest of the episode in slightly awkward silence that was occasionally broken by one of them laughing at something that happened on screen or their phones pinging.

            “So where’s Tyler?” Mark asked when the credits came up.

            “Grocery shopping,” Ethan answered. Mark nodded, and silence fell once more. This time it was unbearably awkward. Mark didn’t pay attention to the television; another episode could have been playing, but he was too busy trying to think of a reason to get up and leave to pay much attention to it. He was about to announce he had to pee and scurry off to his room when Ethan sighed. Mark recognized the kind of sigh it was. Ethan must have had something to say, and he either didn’t know how to say it or simply didn’t want to.

            “What’s up?” Mark asked.

            “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Ethan mumbled, looking down at his hands in his lap. He hesitated a moment more before speaking again. “Do you…not like me very much? Did I do something to piss you off that I don’t know about?”

 _Well shit,_ Mark thought with a pang of guilt.

            “No, Ethan, that’s not it,” Mark sighed. “I don’t dislike you at all. You just—you remind me a lot of my ex. It’s hard sometimes.”

            “Ah, gotcha. Jack, right?”

            “Yeah. Tyler tell you?”

            Ethan shrugged. “Just the name and that it didn’t end very well. You don’t have to explain any more than that if you don’t want to.”

            “Thanks,” Mark said. He ran a hand through his hair. “Man, I’ve been a dick, haven’t I?”

            Ethan looked up at him with a small smile. “A little. I get it though.”

            “Thanks. I just need to get over it and stop being an asshole. You’re a cool guy, really. I’m sorry.”

            Ethan’s smile grew and he elbowed Mark in the ribs. “It’s okay. Promise.”

            “Cool.” Mark smiled back. “I’ll make it up to you though. I’ll hang out with you like non-stop. I’ll even follow you to work. I’ll watch you sleep.”

            Ethan laughed. “I don’t know how Tyler would feel about that.” Mark laughed along with him. Maybe things were going to be alright after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blech, I'm not very happy with this chapter. It was kind of a filler if I'm being honest. More stuff will happen next chapter :3c

**Author's Note:**

> I'm excited for this one. Siren_Of_Old and I were talking about it today! I don't know how long this will be exactly, but hey! Adventures!
> 
> I wanted to take this time to say thank you to all of my lovely readers. "Everything" was a story I put a lot of hard work into, and seeing that people enjoyed it and that it moved them moved ME. <3 You guys are always so so kind, and any criticism I've gotten has been constructive and politely executed. I love you all so much. Thank you so much for reading, even if I break your hearts. <3


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